RESEARCH METHODS

• FEATURES OF A SCIENCE?

  THEORY CONSTRUCTION + HYPOTHESIS TESTING

  • THEORY: general principles/ laws, explain
  • CONSTRUCTION: gathering evidence from direct observation
  • DEDUCTION: new hypotheses from existing (Baddeley + Hitch)
  • Hypothesis-deductive method (new, proved by experimentation)
  • HYPOTHESIS: testable, null, experimental, significant
  • not always generalisable, case studies

  FALSIFIABILITY

  • proven untrue (Popper - yet)
  • pseudoscience, e.g. Freud
  • not account for observational/ descriptive studies

  OBJECTIVITY

  • factual information
  • not open to bias/ opinion or influence
  • e.g. self-reports, Yuille + Cutshall

  EMPIRICAL METHODS

  • direct observations of direct experiences
  • verifiable (experiments/ controlled observations only)
  • but inferences, internal mental processes, WMM

  PARADIGMS + SHIFTS

  • commonly accepted views, shift so new replaces
  • multi-science (approaches)
  • RWA: CBT, depression
• ETHICAL ISSUES?

  CONFIDENTIALITY, RIGHT OF PRIVACY

  • control own information, usage
  • personal data protected
  • anonymity (HM), reminded of protection

  RIGHT TO WITHDRAW

  • remove data any point, informed, immediately accept
  • Milgram: prompting, reputation

  INFORMED CONSENT

  • aim, procedure, risks to make informed decision
  • demand characteristics, internal validity
  • prior general/ presumptive/ retrospective consent

  DECEPTION

  • deliberately withholding information to prevent demand characteristics
  • Zimbardo: study about 'prison life'

  SOCIALLY SENSITIVE RESEARCH

  • consider impact on society
  • Bowlby: role of the father

  PROTECTION FROM HARM

  • physical and psychological
  • reminded of right to withdraw
  • counselling
  • cost-benefit analysis (ethical committee)
  • Zimbardo: incorrectly analysed, negative health consequences
  • Milgram: stress, tension but post-experiment interviews
• WRITING A REFERENCE?

  BOOKS:

  author, date, title (italics/ underlined), place of publication, publisher.

  JOURNALS:

  author, date, title, journal name, journal volume, issue number (all italics/ underlined except author, date, title), page range.
• ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS?

  PARTICIPANTS

  • should not leave in different physical/ psychological state (not view themselves differently)
  • dealt with via counselling
  • Milgram: stress but post-experiment interviews ("learning experience")

  ALLOCATION OF FUNDING/ RESOURCES

  • knowledge, understanding, more targeted funding
  • Ellis ABC model: CBT, treating depression but individual differences

  POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES

  • reinforce political dilemmas/ attitudes or improve
  • Bowlby: maternal deprivation, monotropy, working mothers, paternity, reinforces sexism

  CULTURAL BIAS

  • create or reinforce racism and cultural stereotypes
  • Takahashi: Japanese infants, strange situation, ethnocentric
  • improved by ensuring research is not ethnocentric and tools are appropriate, researchers not imposing etic